wow, i assume all the people who did this took a week from work to spend all this time and energy on all of these names, many of which I never even heard of? I'd love to know how much time and money many of you spent for this? I know the street meets are "technically" free, but food, travel, and other expenses just to get an idea of what it costs for somebody to do this? and of course the amount of time as it just seems like more trouble than it's worth, but that's just my opinion and not knocking all you guys who do this? I'd like to know for my pre-production notes on my future documentary, Starstruck, that I'm eventually going to make so people will start wanting photos with all of you. :)

wow, i assume all the people who did this took a week from work to spend all this time and energy on all of these names, many of which I never even heard of? I'd love to know how much time and money many of you spent for this? I know the street meets are "technically" free, but food, travel, and other expenses just to get an idea of what it costs for somebody to do this? and of course the amount of time as it just seems like more trouble than it's worth, but that's just my opinion and not knocking all you guys who do this? I'd like to know for my pre-production notes on my future documentary, Starstruck, that I'm eventually going to make so people will start wanting photos with all of you. :)

Good job, nice things to read on a Tuesday morning.

Well, nice to know SOMEBODY reads our madness and doesn't just flip through photos. Time-wise, I mean, it's a lot but in the past we got a lot. This year, as I noted, one could have reversed that by just doing certain events. Hard to know before hand of course. Money, well I live in the area, but transportation wise I chose minimally as opposed to years past. Taking the train I could drive/park free at saved easily 30-40 bucks a day. In any event, that was likely the LAST TV week I do to that extent. Time spent is just not worth it, as you wind up getting nothing or repeats.

This week is interesting. On an expense level, no matter how you slice it, you will find an amazing value to be had. Even the folks getting rooms for multiple nights are winding up with a good bang for their buck.

The main thing I found was if you do this every year, or even every few years, there are simply less and less actual fresh wants around. As it was, I went out one day and got 20 names, but I could have easily had 30. I just felt no motivation to get another photo with Dennis Haysbert and people like that where I am lukewarm on at best. For some people, they just go out all week and treat it like it's own separate entity and stack names regardless of whether they have them or not. Greg is more like me, hence his mixed feelings for the week.

I love the week, because essentially you are fishing with dynamite and will always get at least a few names you don't have. Also, it's kind of a grower not a shower in terms of scores, because I have gotten many a nobody and then I end up watching the show in the fall and loving them. TV Week reports are like sports trades, you sometimes need to look back years later to truly judge how you did.

I just get sick of it after one 12 hour day and want to stay home the rest of the week, which is usually exactly what I do.

I've probably mentioned this before and told Jeremiah this when I saw him. When I first came on this site, I knew about street meets but never really thought about them besides actually being at the show or a random opp. I was curious to see what the buzz was about, so went to try for celebs on a weekday before starting a new job in NYC. I waited outside for one hour, and wondered where the excitement was. Then Jerry O'Connell walked down the street, didn't say much, and took a selfie of me and him, and walked on. So I got a photo with a celeb whose work I enjoyed as a kid, but it wasn;'t really much of an "experience". After the one hour, I decided it wasn't for me and never did it again beyond trying to get a photo after a show i was actually there to see or a random encounter. I see you guys spend hours, days, loads of energy and I understand the immediate gratification and fascinated by the addiction for photos with people in TV shows and movies. I guess TV week would be cool if there was a specific show that was part of the extravaganza and gave you a good opp to see get some photos and I guess autographs, but I'm blown away to see you all spend hours pokemoning for anybody who is famous or could be famous someday, and crowding around rails and tons of others. I think with age maybe you start to value time and money and realize that these experiences aren't as unique and niche like they used to be before the advent of social media and cell phone cameras.

Greg, I'm more into the stories than the actual photos at this point. Anybody can take a photo with a celeb for the right price or following their whereabouts which isn't my thing, it's how you write and report and display your time and passion that interests me most. You keep saying you will start spending less time, and as I mention every time I blink my eyes, there are more Greg reports. :)

Please don't take this as a knock or anything on street meets I just like to understand best I can why something that takes a lot of energy and fun and doesn't seem fun would keep people going back for more? It's one thing if it's fun and easy and guaranteed results, otherwise it seems to be a challenge which maybe is the excitement. Would like to know more.

I've probably mentioned this before and told Jeremiah this when I saw him. When I first came on this site, I knew about street meets but never really thought about them besides actually being at the show or a random opp. I was curious to see what the buzz was about, so went to try for celebs on a weekday before starting a new job in NYC. I waited outside for one hour, and wondered where the excitement was. Then Jerry O'Connell walked down the street, didn't say much, and took a selfie of me and him, and walked on. So I got a photo with a celeb whose work I enjoyed as a kid, but it wasn;'t really much of an "experience". After the one hour, I decided it wasn't for me and never did it again beyond trying to get a photo after a show i was actually there to see or a random encounter. I see you guys spend hours, days, loads of energy and I understand the immediate gratification and fascinated by the addiction for photos with people in TV shows and movies. I guess TV week would be cool if there was a specific show that was part of the extravaganza and gave you a good opp to see get some photos and I guess autographs, but I'm blown away to see you all spend hours pokemoning for anybody who is famous or could be famous someday, and crowding around rails and tons of others. I think with age maybe you start to value time and money and realize that these experiences aren't as unique and niche like they used to be before the advent of social media and cell phone cameras.

Greg, I'm more into the stories than the actual photos at this point. Anybody can take a photo with a celeb for the right price or following their whereabouts which isn't my thing, it's how you write and report and display your time and passion that interests me most. You keep saying you will start spending less time, and as I mention every time I blink my eyes, there are more Greg reports. :)

Please don't take this as a knock or anything on street meets I just like to understand best I can why something that takes a lot of energy and fun and doesn't seem fun would keep people going back for more? It's one thing if it's fun and easy and guaranteed results, otherwise it seems to be a challenge which maybe is the excitement. Would like to know more.

It seems like your posts are on average "I can't believe you guys spend so much time doing this" or "I can't imagine spending that much" which are insulting even though you claim that is not your intention. How can anyone explain an obsession? These are just what the people on the board like to do. Everything doesn't need to be a unique experience, especially with a celebrity where time is very limited.

This week is interesting. On an expense level, no matter how you slice it, you will find an amazing value to be had. Even the folks getting rooms for multiple nights are winding up with a good bang for their buck.

The main thing I found was if you do this every year, or even every few years, there are simply less and less actual fresh wants around. As it was, I went out one day and got 20 names, but I could have easily had 30. I just felt no motivation to get another photo with Dennis Haysbert and people like that where I am lukewarm on at best. For some people, they just go out all week and treat it like it's own separate entity and stack names regardless of whether they have them or not. Greg is more like me, hence his mixed feelings for the week.

I love the week, because essentially you are fishing with dynamite and will always get at least a few names you don't have. Also, it's kind of a grower not a shower in terms of scores, because I have gotten many a nobody and then I end up watching the show in the fall and loving them. TV Week reports are like sports trades, you sometimes need to look back years later to truly judge how you did.

I just get sick of it after one 12 hour day and want to stay home the rest of the week, which is usually exactly what I do.

10000% agree. with you guys. I saw SO many ppl that I didnt bother asking again, prob got like 30-40 names throughout the week... 1) they arent "upgrades", most new photos end up being worse than ones taken years ago because of the amount of new ppl in the hobby and/or setting, 2) getting repeats of the same person unless is a true upgrade isnt worth running around for. This was first year my days all ended before 11pm, I was home by 12-1230. Years ago, I'd watch the trailers and then decide who I wanted based on how it seemed, lately I've been going for ppl on previous shows I like since nothing impresses me as much

I've probably mentioned this before and told Jeremiah this when I saw him. When I first came on this site, I knew about street meets but never really thought about them besides actually being at the show or a random opp. I was curious to see what the buzz was about, so went to try for celebs on a weekday before starting a new job in NYC. I waited outside for one hour, and wondered where the excitement was. Then Jerry O'Connell walked down the street, didn't say much, and took a selfie of me and him, and walked on. So I got a photo with a celeb whose work I enjoyed as a kid, but it wasn;'t really much of an "experience". After the one hour, I decided it wasn't for me and never did it again beyond trying to get a photo after a show i was actually there to see or a random encounter. I see you guys spend hours, days, loads of energy and I understand the immediate gratification and fascinated by the addiction for photos with people in TV shows and movies. I guess TV week would be cool if there was a specific show that was part of the extravaganza and gave you a good opp to see get some photos and I guess autographs, but I'm blown away to see you all spend hours pokemoning for anybody who is famous or could be famous someday, and crowding around rails and tons of others. I think with age maybe you start to value time and money and realize that these experiences aren't as unique and niche like they used to be before the advent of social media and cell phone cameras.

Greg, I'm more into the stories than the actual photos at this point. Anybody can take a photo with a celeb for the right price or following their whereabouts which isn't my thing, it's how you write and report and display your time and passion that interests me most. You keep saying you will start spending less time, and as I mention every time I blink my eyes, there are more Greg reports. :)

Please don't take this as a knock or anything on street meets I just like to understand best I can why something that takes a lot of energy and fun and doesn't seem fun would keep people going back for more? It's one thing if it's fun and easy and guaranteed results, otherwise it seems to be a challenge which maybe is the excitement. Would like to know more.

Can't speak for everyone, but for me a lot of it is just hanging out with friends while out. I dont go out much personally unless its a Comic/SW name or tv week. But whenever I do, its normally with friends. I could not get anyone the entire day and still enjoy hanging out with friends, which I think is what makes it worth it for me. Think in the past year (likely more), I've only ventured out once solo. Everyone that knows me also knows that I say the day this stops being fun for me, I'm done, which is why I've stopped coming out as much. Hanging out with friends I dont see much is always more fun, its not so much the photos that get me, but the memories, hence why I barely put my photos on social media. Maybe across all social media platforms, I have like 5-10% of my photos up, everything else isnt public. Thats just my two sense.

Raza, that'a a great answer. The photos and stuff is just part of the deal hanging out with people who share a common interest. I've always believed this should be fun and a sense of community. I dig when I see the photos of a group of the marked out dudes in each other's photos or the shots together, that's cool. I like that good dudes who I had the pleasure of meeting at chiller shows like Jeremiah, Greg,or Capman, or Heelorton can laugh and not take themselves seriously and know their passion is unique and not for everyone, but love the hobby of their. Its' when people begin taking this too serious that I am more intrigued by and it becomes a quest and more work and pain than fun. There is no right or wrong, just very interesting and since this stuff engages me just like a good rock band or movie, I'm always curious to learn more about it. Cool deal!

The vast majority of my life does not revolve around this hobby. I have a full-time, M-F job, a girlfriend of 5 years (and counting!), and a very small circle of friends that I occasionally see.

I mostly stick to four wrestling conventions a year - two LOTRs and two Big Events - and I'll go to most signings at the Wrestling Universe. That's pretty much it. The furthest I have traveled to a convention was to Rhode Island (twice) because they had a bunch of SOA names that both my girlfriend and I wanted to meet. I highly doubt we'd ever return unless they book Charlie Hunnam.

I do feel though when someone continually says things like "you spend so much time doing this, which I feel is a waste and I have more important things to spend my time doing" or "the experience is not worth the time/effort/money/etc" it can tend to read a bit douchy, even if you end it by saying "hey, I mean no disrespect".

The reality is I clearly side more in the Mikey realm of time spent doing this. I couldn't maintain the schedule many in NYC do, nor would I want to, but I don't make a habit of saying it because it seems judgmental and insulting. I wish we had less of that tone here, but otherwise I think the discussion is very interesting.

I think the answer to "Can the hobby go too far?" is "unequivocally yes." You can spend THOUSANDS of dollars every single year, waste hundreds of hours waiting for celebrities that may or may not stop for you...and all of that can rob you of a more robust social life.

The answer is definitely yes the hobby can go too far.. over the past year or two I've made a great decision to stop doing this as much as I was in the past and the result is I'm a lot happier now that I do it less...I used to go to NYC four or five times a month and never skip hardly any events and I used to go to every SNL..those days are behind me. I'm not retiring from the hobby but I am taking a step back because honestly even though I enjoy meeting celebrities and getting photos, there are more important things in life. This past weekend I made a decision to skip all celebrities and attend my cousin's wedding. It sucks I missed out on the photo ops but I don't regret my decision for a second, family is more important and I will cherish my time spent with family more than the photos i would have gotten. Also, now that I go out less each time I do go out it becomes more special because its not something I do all the time.. Even though I may cut down my time spent on this I will never walk away from the hobby completely, its still something I enjoy doing from time to time.

True it's a lot of pokemon names, but the key that week is quantity. And this is beneficial for two reasons. When you shoot in a dark room with THAT many targets you are bound to hit some meaning you are bound to get SOME that are names you like. Even if it's just 20% for that quantity that's a lot of names. Couple of years ago during these events I improved my Bill Paxton shot big time (my previous NYCC shot wasn't very good). He died not too long after.

Second pokemoning so many names is an "investment" so to speak because high chance SOME of these names become big and/or names you like. Again, even if 20% of them end up paying off, that's still worthwhile when speaking of that kind of quantity.

Many of the Gotham names for instance I scored photo ops with before the show aired and before some of them even had a wikipedia page. Gotham turned out to to be my favorite modern day TV show. And when they charged money at cons I didn't even have to pay the money.

Meghan Markle for instance a lot of us got photo ops with her during these events years ago.

For the expenses, I do my best to minimize. I moved my car once during the week and paid $2.50 for the parking meter. That was the total cost of my parking expenses for the entire week. Otherwise I parked free. And with free parking comes completely free lodging for me. So I paid $0 in lodging.

For transportation during the week (trains, chipping in uber with Vanessa and friend) I probably paid $15 for the week (give or take).

Regarding tolls, I avoid most of them. For instance when I left NYC to go to WW Philly and back home, I paid a total of $0 in tolls (that may be a new world record for me).

As for food, not sure how one can factor in food. Because whether one sits at home doing nothing, works all day every day, or combo hunts 24/7, you gotta eat. But my food intake for the week included $1 pizza slices, subway sandwiches, and fruits and biscuits that I packed in my car.

Of course some say that photo ops are insignificant and not worth all that. But as I've said in the past this means more to some than to others.

Last edited by class316 on May 30th, 2018, 2:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.